The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) has the required elements to actively participate as a clinical site in the Genomic and Proteomic Network for Premature Birth Research. The PI, Radoslaw Bukowski, and the co-I, George Saade, bring extensive experience with study design, recruitment, data analysis, and publications from several NIH multisite clinical trials (First and Second Trimester Evaluation of Risk of Aneuploidy [FASTER], Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network [SCRN], Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome Trial [TTTS], and Beneficial Effects of Antenatal Magnesium Sulfate Study [BEAM]). We achieve successful patient recruitment/retention by partnering with our Department's broad Regional Maternal & Child Health Program (RMCHP). The RMCHP provides prenatal care to over 11,000 pregnant women a year, with over 6,000 of them delivering at the UTMB hospital in Galveston as high-risk pregnancies. All RMCHP clinics follow protocols set by the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division. Our clinical infrastructure and population prepare us well to participate in the Network as we deliver over 500 premature pregnancies a year, 89% of then: resulting from spontaneous preterm labor and 97% receiving prenatal care in our system. The Department's Electronic Medical Record System captures antepartum and intrapartum information, entered on-line and readily available for query by authorized investigators. The Department's team of dedicated research nurses and coordinators (Chairman's Research Group) and the Tissue Bank have broadened efficiency in clinical investigations. The excellent and productive collaboration between PI and Co-I offers further benefits to the Network. Jennifer Lee and Aimee Jackson, who will serve as our Research Coordinators, bring considerable experience as established coordinators for NIH multi-site trials. Our Department has a productive and well-funded basic science research group, with expertise in many areas of relevance to the RFA such as molecular mechanisms of uterine contractility and cervical ripening, animal models of preterm labor, infection, vascular physiology, placental function, and fetal growth. Finally, we have well-established collaborative ties with our University's Division of Neonatology. The PI and co-1, as well as UTMB overall, have particular interest in genomics and proteomics as applied to the uterus in labor and infection/ inflammation. Our concept protocols propose to examine networks of co-expressed genes in the uterus during preterm birth. We accept the RFA's capitation and participatory stipulations and stand ready to contribute as a member of the Network. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]